Despite the fact that the Los Angeles Clippers will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2011, head coach Doc Rivers is proud of his team. From Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints:
“I have never been more proud of a team that didn’t make the playoffs,” said Rivers. “This team has been through so much all year. So many more things that people do not know.
“You know our 45-day guys have been exceptional all year and most of the days that they were with us, they couldn’t practice because we are trying squeeze the days out of them. You think about a rookie that is playing on an NBA team that can’t even be in the gym when his team is practicing and then the next night we fly him on a commercial flight and he has to get off the plane and then go play in an NBA game. That is the stuff that this team has done all year, and yet somehow, we kept our heads above water.”
Despite all the turmoil the Clippers have faced, from losing Chris Paul in the offseason, to trading Blake Griffin midway through the season, to various injuries, the Clippers have a record of 42-39 with one game to play. Rivers is proud that the Clips managed to go over .500:
“I have coached a long time,” Rivers added as he recalled memories his coaching career. “I don’t know how many years this is, 18, and I think I’ve had one or two losing seasons in my entire coaching career. This should’ve been the third one when you think about it, and somehow it isn’t. We are above .500, had a chance to make the playoffs and at the end of the day, honestly, we played against the teams that have a chance to make it and they are better. But we won a lot of games against teams that are better than us and I thought as a group, I don’t think I have been more proud of a group, maybe ever, than I have been of this group. We have asked a lot of guys to do a lot of stuff that they should not have had to do and yet they did it. You look at this team and you see the whole backcourt basically out. Four or five of your starters, from the beginning of the year, have been out most of the year and yet we kept winning.”
Rivers has coached the Clippers since 2013. In that position, Rivers has amassed a total record of 259 wins and 150 losses.
